Dark Arisen drops players into "depths of an unknown darkness" sometime next year.

Dragon's Dogma seemed to come out of nowhere when it launched this summer. Whether or not you saw it as a fresh take on the open world RPG or just a mess, it moved over a million units for Capcom. With numbers like that, it was only a matter of time before more game was on the way. That's exactly what will happen in 2013 with the Dark Arisen, Capcom announced at the Tokyo Game Show. While we don't know much right now, Capcom made it clear that Dark Arisen won't be a small DLC pack, but a "major expansion."

What little we do know can be gleamed from the trailer Capcom released. The words "Into the depths of an unknown darkness, dark arisen" and brief glimpses of murky underground caves seem to be hinting at a new subterranean environment. Could this be Dragon's Dogma open-world version of The Underdark?

If that's too long to wait, some new additions are getting added to Dragon's Dogma for free this year. If you were disappointed by the recent patched-in easy mode, then you'll appreciate the two new game modes Capcom has planned. Hard mode now exists for those who want the challenge, while a speedrun mode times you as you race through the entire game. Completing either mode will award you fancy new loot to equip. Both of these modes will arrive via patch before the end of the year.

Wow, i had no idea they were adding in a hard mode, that's great to hear, as i was almost ready to ditch my new game + and start fresh for a bit of a challenge.

Anyways, the expansion sounds very interesting, an underground environment could be very cool. I loved the spots in the main game where you needed to use your lantern to see underground, especially when fighting a boss. Looking forward to this for sure.

tried it, liked it, lost 100+ hours worth of gametime, 100+ level character, with a killing blow on the online boss dragon and awesome looking gear, because suddenly the save refuses to load, threw the game away in disgust and stopped playing.

Now, Capcom. CAPCOM. Look, looook. Listen to me. Do not, LISTEN DAMMIT, do not screw this up! I know how excitable you can be and sometimes you get a little ahead of yourself. That's okay, we all make mistakes. But so help me, if you make a mistake with THIS I will personally set a dragon on you. I mean it, and there won't be any pawns or assassin cheese to pull you through.